Gandhiji.Pdf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Gandhiji.Pdf GANDHIJI Written By: Jugatram Dave Translated by: Jyoti Verma First Published : October 2012 Price: Rs. 15/- Published by: Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal – Gandhi Book Centre 299 Tardeo Road, Nana Chowk, Mumbai 400007 Tel. +91-22-23872061 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mkgandhi.org Printed by: Navajivan Publishing House Ahmedabad 380 014 (INDIA) Phone: +91-79-27540635/27542634 Fax: +91-79-27541329 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.navajivantrust.org GANDHIJI PUBLISHER’S NOTE The Gujarat Vidyapeeth has been organising an exam on Gandhi every year on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. The book ‘Gandhi Bapu’ by Kudasia Jaidi is being used as a text book in these exams right from the beginning for the students of Std. 5 to 7. In addition, it is decided to add as a text book the other book, ‘Gandhiji’ (originally in Gujarati) by Late. Shri. Jugatram Dave which describes the incidents of Gandhiji’s life. The first edition of this book was published in 1929. About four lac copies of the same have been sold till now. The English version of this book is a special edition available at a subsidized price, used for this exam. Five poems, expressing the life and work of Gandhiji are given at the end of this book with the thought that it may be useful to create better understanding of Gandhiji’s personality. The students attending the exam could memorise them by heart. www.mkgandhi.org Page 2 GANDHIJI 1. HOME - TOWN? Which is Gandhiji's home- town? Porbunder will immediately say, "I am! He was born here!" The Phoenix and Tolstoy Ashram abroad will say, "Why do you forget, it was here that he was truly 'born'?" Ahmedabad will say, "But he did build his Ashram on my river banks!" Pune will also try to take the credit, "Don't you forget that he was kept in my Yerawada jail." The farmers from Bihar would exclaim, "Whatever you may claim, but he truly belonged to us. Do you know how much he liked to wander in our indigo fields?" At this Punjab will come forward roaring, "Who can deny that my..Jallianwala Baug was the one, which kindled the fire within him?" Kolkata would say, "But it was this place from where he began his non-cooperation movement!" Mumbai would retort, "Didn't he choose me to begin Satyagraha?" Bardoli will come forward and say, "Will anyone listen to me? Didn't he begin his fight on my soil?" Delhi thinks that Gandhiji belongs to her because he spent twenty-one days of his fast there. Belgaum thinks that it has more right to own Gandhiji than any other place. Wasn't Gandhiji honoured with chairmanship at the National Convention here? Himalaya, the king of mountains, is laughing at this. "Who can explain things to them? Can these innocent people understand what Gandhiji really longed for?" Blessed is the tiny place Segaon! No one knew the name of this village, situated in Central India! It never tried to possess him. Neither did it complain nor make any demand. Yet Gandhiji favoured it. www.mkgandhi.org Page 3 GANDHIJI 2. CASTE Gandhiji was Modh-waniya (Baniya) by caste. But what did he himself say about it? Once government filed a case against him for sedition. The case was tried in Ahmedabad court. The judge was sure to ask his name! "What is your name?" "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi." "Which is your home town?" "Satyagraha Ashram, Sabarmati." "What is your occupation?" "Weaving and farming." The judge was astonished with this reply. Even the people there were stunned. www.mkgandhi.org Page 4 GANDHIJI 3. PUTLIBAI Gandhiji's mother's name was Putlibai. She was a true devotee of God. She would not have food until she finished her puja (prayer) rituals. She would go to the temple regularly. She would strictly keep fast on Ekadashi (Eleventh day of the lunar month). Having meals only once a day was child's play for her. During the sacred four- month's period (chaturmas) she used to pray devoutly and observe all rituals. During this period she used to be so strict that she would take meals only after she saw and prayed the Sun. No wonder that the children loved such a religious mother. The children would watch for the Sun to shine through the clouds. They would run in to inform their mother the moment they saw the Sun come out of the clouds. "Come, mother, come quickly and see the Sun." Sometimes the Sun would disappear before she could come. Then she would have to go without food for the day. But the mother was a rightous devotee and she would never leave the rituals halfway because of illness or any other reason. Gandhiji's mother was such a pious and self-respecting person. www.mkgandhi.org Page 5 GANDHIJI 4. BA (KASTURBA) Many of you might have seen Bapu but a lot of people have hardly seen Kasturba. "Ba" never behaved as if she was a very great person. She never sat on Bapu's seat to meet the people. No! She would be busy doing something or making rotis in the kitchen or preparing a meal for Gandhiji or else nursing a patient. If Gandhiji took ill it was Ba's duty to look after him and comfort him by pressing his forehead softly. She was seen on such occasions only. She was not a person who would deliver a lecture which Bapu was supposed to do.. She used to sit among the ladies and nobody would notice her or else she would stay at home and get busy with her work. Ba did not try to be 'great' in other's eyes. She loved only one thing - to follow in Bapu's footsteps and care for him. Sita sacrificed the luxurious life to follow Ram during exile. Similarly, Ba also left behind the comforts of life and started living in the Ashram with Bapu. Ba was a truly sacred soul. She was an embodiment of Sati. www.mkgandhi.org Page 6 GANDHIJI 5. TEST Gandhiji must have been in second or third grade and was trying to learn English. Once an education officer came to inspect the school and asked the students to write five English words each. The class teacher was keeping an eye on them. His heart was beating rapidly, fearing that the students might make mistakes. If it happened so, the teacher was to be blamed. The officer would blame the teacher for not doing his duty properly. Mohandas had miss-spelt the word 'kettle'. The teacher saw it but what could he do? Slowly he went to him and tapped on Mohandas' foot with his shoe. Then he signaled him to copy the student sitting next to him. Mohandas did not know how to copy. He would not even dream of cheating. So he could not understand that the teacher was actually asking him to be dishonest and copy from another student's paper. The teacher scolded him the next day and said, "You are such a fool! You didn't even get the clue!" Gandhiji didn't say anything to the teacher but he was sure that it was not a good advice to be followed because it was leading to untruth. www.mkgandhi.org Page 7 GANDHIJI 6. TRUTH Gandhiji loved to be truthful since he was a child. He has written how he moved in the company of bad boys for a few days. Those boys had a habit of eating snacks at a vender's shop and smoking. Since they could not ask their parents to give money for such a thing, they started stealing it from the servants' pockets. Mohan would feel suffocated due to this, but when he saw those friends he would be tempted to smoke. As the time went by they had piled a lot of debt at the vender's shop. The shop- keeper would demand his money time and again; it was a difficult situation. They worried about his demanding the money in front of people or that he would come home to take it from their parents. The money stolen from the servant's pockets used to be very little and the debt was big enough. What to do now? So the group was worried. Gandhiji's elder brother was also there in the group. Then he thought of stealing to escape from this situation. He said, "I have a gold bracelet in my hand. If we take some gold out of it, we would be able to pay the debt and nobody would know!" This idea made Mohan uneasy but he dared not speak against it. He let them cut a piece out of it. The debt was paid but how could a truth loving person have peace of mind? He thought, "Alas! I have been a part of this theft! Let the snacks and the cigarettes go to hell!" Again a thought came to his mind, "Oh God! I have even deceived my father!" Uneasy as he was he could neither eat properly nor do any work! He felt guilty. At last he decided to go to his father and confess the misdeed. He thought, "I will face his anger and even take the beating if he does so." But he dared not speak to his father. So Gandhiji wrote a letter to him confessing everything and asked to be forgiven. He handed it over to his father www.mkgandhi.org Page 8 GANDHIJI with tearful eyes and trembling hands.
Recommended publications
  • The Social Life of Khadi: Gandhi's Experiments with the Indian
    The Social Life of Khadi: Gandhi’s Experiments with the Indian Economy, c. 1915-1965 by Leslie Hempson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Farina Mir, Co-Chair Professor Mrinalini Sinha, Co-Chair Associate Professor William Glover Associate Professor Matthew Hull Leslie Hempson [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5195-1605 © Leslie Hempson 2018 DEDICATION To my parents, whose love and support has accompanied me every step of the way ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF ACRONYMS v GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS vi ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL DIVIDE 23 CHAPTER 2: ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS 53 CHAPTER 3: WRITING THE ECONOMY 89 CHAPTER 4: SPINNING EMPLOYMENT 130 CONCLUSION 179 APPENDIX: WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 183 BIBLIOGRAPHY 184 iii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1 Advertisement for a list of businesses certified by AISA 59 3.1 A set of scales with coins used as weights 117 4.1 The ambar charkha in three-part form 146 4.2 Illustration from a KVIC album showing Mother India cradling the ambar 150 charkha 4.3 Illustration from a KVIC album showing giant hand cradling the ambar charkha 151 4.4 Illustration from a KVIC album showing the ambar charkha on a pedestal with 152 a modified version of the motto of the Indian republic on the front 4.5 Illustration from a KVIC album tracing the charkha to Mohenjo Daro 158 4.6 Illustration from a KVIC album tracing
    [Show full text]
  • GUJARAT UNIVERSITY Hisotry M.A
    Publication Department, Guajrat University [1] GUJARAT UNIVERSITY Hisotry M.A. Part-I Group - 'A' In Force from June 2003, Compulsory Paper-I (Historiography, Concept, Methods and Tools) (100 Marks : 80 Lectures) Unit-1 : Meaning and Scope of Hisotry (a) Meaning of History and Importance of its study. (b) Nature and Scope of History (c) Collection and selection of sources (data); evidence and its transmission; causation; and 'Historicism' Unit-2 : History and allied Disciplines (a) Archaeology; Geography; Numasmatics; Economics; Political Science; Sociology and Literature. Unit-3 : Traditions of Historical Writing (a) Greco-Roman traditions (b) Ancient Indian tradition. (c) Medieval Historiography. (d) Oxford, Romantic and Prussion schools of Historiography Unit-4 : Major Theories of Hisotry (a) Cyclical, Theological, Imperalist, Nationalist, and Marxist Unit-5 : Approaches to Historiagraphy (a) Evaluation of the contribution to Historiography of Ranke and Toynbee. (b) Assessment of the contribution to Indian Historiography of Jadunath Sarkar, G.S. Sardesai and R.C. Majumdar, D.D. Kosambi. (c) Contribution to regional Historiography of Bhagvanlal Indraji and Shri Durga Shankar Shastri. Paper-I Historiography, Concept, Methods and Tools. Suggested Readings : 1. Ashley Montagu : Toynbee and History, 1956. 2. Barnes H.E. : History of Historical Writing, 1937, 1963 3. Burg J.B. : The Ancient Greek Historians, 1909. 4. Car E.H. : What is History, 1962. 5. Cohen : The meaning of Human History, 1947, 1961. 6. Collingwood R.G. : The Idea of History, 1946. 7. Donagan Alan and Donagan Barbara : Philosophy of History, 1965 8. Dray Will Iam H : Philosophy of History, 1964. 9. Finberg H.P.R. (Ed.) : Approaches to History, 1962.
    [Show full text]
  • Gandhi Sites in Durban Paul Tichmann 8 9 Gandhi Sites in Durban Gandhi Sites in Durban
    local history museums gandhi sites in durban paul tichmann 8 9 gandhi sites in durban gandhi sites in durban introduction gandhi sites in durban The young London-trained barrister, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 1. Dada Abdullah and Company set sail for Durban from Bombay on 19 April 1893 and arrived in (427 Dr Pixley kaSeme Street) Durban on Tuesday 23 May 1893. Gandhi spent some twenty years in South Africa, returning to India in 1914. The period he spent in South Africa has often been described as his political and spiritual Sheth Abdul Karim Adam Jhaveri, a partner of Dada Abdullah and apprenticeship. Indeed, it was within the context of South Africa’s Co., a firm in Porbandar, wrote to Gandhi’s brother, informing him political and social milieu that Gandhi developed his philosophy and that a branch of the firm in South Africa was involved in a court practice of Satyagraha. Between 1893 and 1903 Gandhi spent periods case with a claim for 40 000 pounds. He suggested that Gandhi of time staying and working in Durban. Even after he had moved to be sent there to assist in the case. Gandhi’s brother introduced the Transvaal, he kept contact with friends in Durban and with the him to Sheth Abdul Karim Jhaveri, who assured him that the job Indian community of the City in general. He also often returned to would not be a difficult one, that he would not be required for spend time at Phoenix Settlement, the communitarian settlement he more than a year and that the company would pay “a first class established in Inanda, just outside Durban.
    [Show full text]
  • Friends of Gandhi
    FRIENDS OF GANDHI Correspondence of Mahatma Gandhi with Esther Færing (Menon), Anne Marie Petersen and Ellen Hørup Edited by E.S. Reddy and Holger Terp Gandhi-Informations-Zentrum, Berlin The Danish Peace Academy, Copenhagen Copyright 2006 by Gandhi-Informations-Zentrum, Berlin, and The Danish Peace Academy, Copenhagen. Copyright for all Mahatma Gandhi texts: Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad, India (with gratitude to Mr. Jitendra Desai). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transacted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Gandhi-Informations-Zentrum: http://home.snafu.de/mkgandhi The Danish Peace Academy: http://www.fredsakademiet.dk Friends of Gandhi : Correspondence of Mahatma Gandhi with Esther Færing (Menon), Anne Marie Petersen and Ellen Hørup / Editors: E.S.Reddy and Holger Terp. Publishers: Gandhi-Informations-Zentrum, Berlin, and the Danish Peace Academy, Copenhagen. 1st edition, 1st printing, copyright 2006 Printed in India. - ISBN 87-91085-02-0 - ISSN 1600-9649 Fred I Danmark. Det Danske Fredsakademis Skriftserie Nr. 3 EAN number / strejkode 9788791085024 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ESTHER FAERING (MENON)1 Biographical note Correspondence with Gandhi2 Gandhi to Miss Faering, January 11, 1917 Gandhi to Miss Faering, January 15, 1917 Gandhi to Miss Faering, March 20, 1917 Gandhi to Miss Faering, March 31,1917 Gandhi to Miss Faering, April 15, 1917 Gandhi to Miss Faering,
    [Show full text]
  • Unpaid / Unclaimed Dividend for Fy 2018-19 Flno Paycity
    UNPAID / UNCLAIMED DIVIDEND FOR FY 2018-19 FLNO PAYCITY NAM1 NAMEEXT FHNAME ADD1 ADD2 ADD3 CITY PIN SHARESNETDVD NET MICRNOPROPIEPF 1203690000015751 A&N ISLANDS VENKATA RAMANA REDDY KOTTAPALLI 1-131 MACHAVARAM KANDUKURU PRAKASAM(DT) 0 100 800.00 800.00 47 29-OCT-2026 1202900000009985 Vadodara ASHOKBHAI RAMANBHAI PATEL AT & POST: RANOLI AT: RANOLI 0 150 1200.00 1200.00 48 29-OCT-2026 1201910100707978 VALSAD CHIMANBHAI BHAVANBHAI PATEL 1 TALAVCHORA TA CHIKHLII DI. VALSAD 0 100 800.00 800.00 50 29-OCT-2026 S0014666 NEW DELHI S KULWANT SINGH C/O ANAND FILLING STATION IRWIN ROAD NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110001 12 96.00 96.00 51 29-OCT-2026 K0011666 NEW DELHI KAMAL KISHORE RATHI 22 STOCK EXCHANGE BLDG ASAF ALI ROAD NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110001 76 608.00 608.00 52 29-OCT-2026 C0004874 NEW DELHI CITIBANK N A 124 JEEVAN BHARATHI BLDG CONNAUGHT CIRCUS NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110001 67 536.00 536.00 55 29-OCT-2026 R0006790 NEW DELHI RADHA KHANNA C/O PRITHVI RAJ KHANNA I S I CLUB CANTEEN MANAK BHAVAN 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110002 74 592.00 592.00 57 29-OCT-2026 P0005340 NEW DELHI PRITHVI RAJ KHANNA ISI CLUB CANTEEN MANAK BHAVAN 9 BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR MARG NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110002 74 592.00 592.00 58 29-OCT-2026 A0008134 NEW DELHI ASUTOSH JOSHI C/O SHRI SUKH LAL JOSHI LINK HOUSE NAV BHARAT VANIJYA LTD 3 BAHADUR SHAH ZA NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110002 36 288.00 288.00 61 29-OCT-2026 N0007772 NEW DELHI NAVEEN SOOD 1815 IIND FLR UDAYCHAND MARG KATLA MUBARAKPUR NEW DELHI NEW DELHI 110003 2 16.00 16.00 62 29-OCT-2026 N0009316 NEW DELHI NAMRITA MITTAL
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Letter to Children of Bal Mandir
    1. LETTER TO CHILDREN OF BAL MANDIR KARACHI, February 4, 1929 CHILDREN OF BAL MANDIR, The children of the Bal Mandir1are too mischievous. What kind of mischief was this that led to Hari breaking his arm? Shouldn’t there be some limit to playing pranks? Let each child give his or her reply. QUESTION TWO: Does any child still eat spices? Will those who eat them stop doing so? Those of you who have given up spices, do you feel tempted to eat them? If so, why do you feel that way? QUESTION THREE: Does any of you now make noise in the class or the kitchen? Remember that all of you have promised me that you will make no noise. In Karachi it is not so cold as they tried to frighten me by saying it would be. I am writing this letter at 4 o’clock. The post is cleared early. Reading by mistake four instead of three, I got up at three. I didn’t then feel inclined to sleep for one hour. As a result, I had one hour more for writing letters to the Udyoga Mandir2. How nice ! Blessings from BAPU From a photostat of the Gujarati: G.N. 9222 1 An infant school in the Sabarmati Ashram 2 Since the new constitution published on June 14, 1928 the Ashram was renamed Udyoga Mandir. VOL.45: 4 FEBRUARY, 1929 - 11 MAY, 1929 1 2. LETTER TO ASHRAM WOMEN KARACHI, February 4, 1929 SISTERS, I hope your classes are working regularly. I believe that no better arrangements could have been made than what has come about without any special planning.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume Fourty-One : (Dec 2, 1927
    1. SPEECH AT PUBLIC MEETING, CHICACOLE December 3, 1927 You seem to be dividing all the good things with poor Utkal1. I flattered myself with the assumption that my arrival here is one of the good things, for I was going to devote all the twenty days to seeing the skeletons of Orissa; but as you, the Andhras, are the gatekeepers of Orissa on this side, you have intercepted my march. But I am glad you have anticipated me also. After entering Andhra Desh, I have been doing my business with you and I know God will reward all those unknown people who have been co-operating with me who am a self- appointed representative of Daridranarayana. And here, too, you have been doing the same thing. Last night, several sister came and presented me with a purse. But let me tell you this is not after all my tour in Andhra. I am not going to let you alone so easily as this, nor will Deshabhakta Konda Venkatappayya let me alone, because I have toured in some parts of Ganjam. I am under promise to tour Andhra during the early part of next year, and let me hope what you are doing is only a foretaste of what you are going to do next year. You have faith in true non-co-operation. There is the great drink evil, eating into the vitals of the labouring population. I would like you to non-co-operate with that evil without a single thought and I make a sporting proposal, viz., that those who give up drink habit should divide their savings with me on behalf of Daridranarayan.
    [Show full text]
  • Gandhi Wields the Weapon of Moral Power (Three Case Stories)
    Gandhi wields the weapon of moral power (Three Case Stories) By Gene Sharp Foreword by: Dr. Albert Einstein First Published: September 1960 Printed & Published by: Navajivan Publishing House Ahmedabad 380 014 (INDIA) Phone: 079 – 27540635 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.navajivantrust.org Gandhi wields the weapon of moral power FOREWORD By Dr. Albert Einstein This book reports facts and nothing but facts — facts which have all been published before. And yet it is a truly- important work destined to have a great educational effect. It is a history of India's peaceful- struggle for liberation under Gandhi's guidance. All that happened there came about in our time — under our very eyes. What makes the book into a most effective work of art is simply the choice and arrangement of the facts reported. It is the skill pf the born historian, in whose hands the various threads are held together and woven into a pattern from which a complete picture emerges. How is it that a young man is able to create such a mature work? The author gives us the explanation in an introduction: He considers it his bounden duty to serve a cause with all his ower and without flinching from any sacrifice, a cause v aich was clearly embodied in Gandhi's unique personality: to overcome, by means of the awakening of moral forces, the danger of self-destruction by which humanity is threatened through breath-taking technical developments. The threatening downfall is characterized by such terms as "depersonalization" regimentation “total war"; salvation by the words “personal responsibility together with non-violence and service to mankind in the spirit of Gandhi I believe the author to be perfectly right in his claim that each individual must come to a clear decision for himself in this important matter: There is no “middle ground ".
    [Show full text]
  • Working Paper No. 145 Tribal Education in Gujarat
    Working Paper No. 145 Tribal Education in Gujarat: An Evaluation of Educational Incentive Schemes B.L. Kumar Gujarat Institute of Development Research Gota, Ahmedabad 380 060 June 2004 Abstract This paper provides a comprehensive review of the working of various incentive schemes and assesses their utility coverage and quality of benefits received by the tribal children, besides an analysis of secondary data on tribal education in the state. A survey of 885 tribal households was done in 40 villages of four tribal districts of the state. The following are the major findings: Literacy among tribals is low in all districts. Female literacy is abysmally low. Three out of four tribal females are illiterate. Very small proportion of tribal habitations have upper primary and secondary schools and quality of education measured in terms of per school number of teachers, classrooms and other basic facilities such as drinking water, toilet etc. is quite poor in tribal areas. Non- enrolment and dropout rates are also high among tribals and poverty as well as low quality of education are the important factors for more children to be out of schools. An evaluation of incentive scheme reveals that education is free for almost all tribal children. Though about 95 per cent of children received free books only 56 per cent school going children received cash scholarship and three-fourth of them received less than Rs. 100. This paltry sum is quite inadequate and also received late. It hardly helps in increasing school enrolment and retention rates. While fifty per cent of children reported receipt of school uniform only half of them received two pairs of uniforms, and five per cent received it in time.
    [Show full text]
  • Gandhi and Sexuality: in What Ways and to What Extent Was Gandhi’S Life Dominated by His Views on Sex and Sexuality? Priyanka Bose
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The South Asianist Journal Gandhi and sexuality: in what ways and to what extent was Gandhi’s life dominated by his views on sex and sexuality? Priyanka Bose Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 137–177 | ISSN 2050-487X | www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk | ISSN 2050-487X | pg. 137 Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 137–177 Gandhi and sexuality: in what ways and to what extent was Gandhi’s life dominated by his views on sex and sexuality? Priyanka Bose [email protected] Though research is coming to light about Gandhi’s views on sexuality, there is still a gap in how this can be related or focused to his broader political philosophy and personal conduct. Joseph Alter states: “It is well known that Gandhi felt that sexuality and desire were intimately connected to social life and politics and that self-control translated directly into power of various kinds both public and private.”* However, I would argue, that the ways in which Gandhi connected these aspects, why and how, have not been fully discussed and are, indeed, not well known. By studying his views and practices with relation to sexuality, I believe that much can be discerned as to how his political philosophy and personal conduct were both established and acted out. In this paper I will aim, therefore, to address: what his views were on sex and sexuality, contextualizing his views with those of the time, what his influences were in his ideology on sex, and how these ideologies framed and related to his political philosophy as well as conduct.
    [Show full text]
  • 1895 Jugatram Dave Was Born on 1St Septembe
    MR. JUGATRAM DAVE Recipient of Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Constructive Work-1978 Born: 1895 Jugatram Dave was born on 1st September, 1895 at Laktar (Kathiawar). He studied upto Matric at Bombay and worked in a Gujarati monthly Vismi Sadi for some time. As the Bombay climate did not suit him, Swami Anand sent him to Baroda in 1915, where he worked as a teacher in a village school under the guidance of Acharya Kakasaheb Kalelkar for a couple of years. In 1917 he went to Ahmedabad to join the Kochrab Ashram and later shifted to the Sabarmati Ashram. He became an ideal ashramite, earning the confidence of Gandhiji and Kasturba. He worked first as a teacher in the national school established by Gandhiji and later joined the Navjivan Press. Jugatrambhai was deeply impressed by Gandhiji’s Constructive Programme and wished to take it up in right earnest on his own. This he could do only in 1924, when he went to stay at the Swaraj Ashram, Bardoli. He took an active part in flood relief operations in 1927 when many parts of Gujarat were devastated by floods and later in the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 under the leadership of Sardar Vallabbhai Patel. Soon afterwards he set up an ashram at Vedchhi, in the Raniparaj area inhabited mostly by Adivasis, as he felt that constructive work was most needed in uplifting the people of this socially and economically backward area. Jugatrambhai was, however, not able to give his undivided attention to organize and develop the Ashram activities on a wide and systematic scale till many years later.
    [Show full text]
  • Gandhi's Swaraj
    PERSPECTIVE when his right hand got tired he used his Gandhi’s Swaraj left hand. That physical tiredness did not d iminish Gandhi’s powers of concentra- tion was evident from the fact that the Rudrangshu Mukherjee manuscript had only 16 lines that had been deleted and a few words that had This essay briefl y traces Gandhi’s “I am a man possessed by an idea’’ – Gandhi been altered.3 to Louis Fischer in 1942. The ideas presented in that book grew ideas about swaraj, their “I made it [the nation] and I unmade it” out of Gandhi’s refl ection, his reading and articulation in 1909 in Hind – G andhi to P C Joshi in 1947. “I don’t want to die a failure. But I may be a his experiences in South Africa. It is sig- Swaraj, the quest to actualise failure” – Gandhi to Nirmal Bose in 1947.1 nifi cant that when he wrote Hind Swaraj, these ideas, the turns that history Gandhi had not immersed himself in Indi- gave to them, and the journey n the midnight of 14-15 August an society and politics. His experiments in that made Mohandas 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru, the India still lay in the future. In fact, Hind Ofi rst prime minister of India, Swaraj served as the basis of these experi- Karamchand Gandhi a lonely coined the phrase – “tryst with destiny”– ments. Gandhi’s purpose in writing the man in August 1947. that has become part of India’s national book was, he wrote, “to serve my country, lexicon, and India erupted in jubilation, to fi nd out the Truth and to follow it”.
    [Show full text]